CD-28 and 30s Sailing Performance

[Acadia]

I am looking for your personal sailing reviews on the CD-28 and 30s. I formerly owned a ty and really enjoyed sailing her, now i am looking for a larger CD for cruising the Chesapeake and points north. I would like to know more about the cutter rig on the CD-30 and how the boat performs in light wind conditions as well as fall sailing. I just wont get this info on a short sea trial. Thanks for your feedback.
best
Ric

[JWSutcliffe]

Having had a CD30 cutter and now CD31, I can honestly say they are not light air boats, at least not upwind. Give the 30 8 or 10 knots wind and performance isn't so bad. Really, really nice cruising boat, however. Any sailboat is a compromise, and I would personally prefer to have the classic look and solid, reliable performace in heavier winds and seas of a Cape Dory.

[Acadia]

Skip how was your CD 30 rigged as a cutter or did you convert to a 150% genny? Do you find better performance in your 31 vs 30 in general?

[Steve Laume]

I have never sailed a CD-28 but have spent a lot of time on Raven.

Here is a comparison of the two boats and as you can see there is not much difference.

http://www.image-ination.com/sailcalc.html

There were also Aprox. the same number of each boat built so finding either one should not be that hard.

I would never eliminate the club boom and stay sail for most sailing situations. Raven has a detachable inner stay so I can sail her with a gennoa, which I have. The gennoa is big and takes up a bunch of room when not in use. I have only used mine a couple of times.

One year I decided to feed the gennoa onto the roller furler for light air conditions in Fishers Island Sound during the summer months. I was astounded by the reduction in viability I suffered. All sorts of things could sneak up in the blind spot I never had with the cutter rig. The boat moved well until the wind picked up and then I wanted to flexibility of the cutter rig back.

The other time I used the gennoa was on an offshore trip when the wind was light. Visibility was not a problem in that situation but I didn't feel comfortable leaving it up at night. You have multipal options for reducing sail with the cutter rig.

One of the great advantages of the club boom is in short tacking. When I go to leave my mooring or get into a tight channel I do not deploy the jib. With the main and stay sail you only need to put the helm over to tack. No sheets to mess with or foul in a tight situation.

The boom has the disadvantage of consuming the fore deck, so you can not store a dinghy up there or anywhere else on board for that matter.

The cutter rig is at the biggest disadvantage going down wind. You just can't make all those sails draw at the same time. In that situation I will fly a drifter or spinnaker. The drifter flown free is pretty easy to set up and pulls like a proverbial mule when off the wind. It is light and easy to stow as well.

The CD-30 appears to have a lower free board than the CD-28. I don't know if this is an allusion or if it is indeed the case. I do know that if the rail goes under you are way over canvased. Large waves may come on board but she will generally keep her deck above the seas.

It is hard to see exactly where they added the two feet but more room is always better when cruising.

The other big difference is wheel or tiller steering. This will open a whole other can of worms. Aside from control of the boat a wheel with a binnacle and large compass right in front of you has some advantages. You can stand at the helm while bracing with the binnacle rail and a wide stance with good forward visibility and a chart plotter right in front of you. I also installed a second set of winches further aft as my primaries so I can pretty much control and monitor everything from the helm.

The CD-30 has mid boom sheeting while the CD-28 has end boom. I suppose it is just a matter of where you would prefer the clutter. End boom sheeting doesn't work that well with a wheel.

Either boat would be a great choice but of course I am partial to the CD-30. I am also very fond of the club boom and stay sail rig. No one buys a Cape Dory for it's light wind performance. The cutter rig is very versatile and just looks right on these boats and that is also a consideration, Steve.

[JWSutcliffe]

Ric:

Echoing Steve's comments, I had my 30 set up with a detachable inner forestay as well, and sailed it both as a cutter and with a larger 150% genoa. The 150% was a huge problem as far as visibility, although it did provide nice muscle in lighter air. In 4 seasons with the 31 we have yet to try it as anything but a cutter rig, because we are quite satisfied with it overall. I would say the overall sailing performance of the 30 and 31 are very similar. The 31 has more freeboard than the 30, so it stays drier in the cockpit.

[Carl Thunberg]

Why would anyone choose to go sailing on a light air day? That's just one big exercise in frustration. Life's too short for that kind of non-sense. That's what diesel engines are for.

Sorry for the seemingly frivolous response, but there's more truth to it than many would care to admit. There are light air boats and there are heavy air boats. CD's are heavy air boats.

[Loren]

Not to be difficult but I've had some very enjoyable sails with boatspeed of 1 to 2 knots. Now if I was actually trying to get somewhere I'd use the iron genny.

Loren

[Duncan]

I am looking for your personal sailing reviews on the CD-28 and 30s...I would like to know more about the cutter rig on the CD-30 and how the boat performs in light wind conditions as well as fall sailing...

You didn't ask about the CD 27, but just in case that's also in your sights, I have found mine to be surprisingly good in light airs. This is partly because the 27 is quite a bit lighter than the 28 and the 30 (7500 lbs. vs 9000 or 10,000)
She's also fine in heavier weather, but faster with a reef in the main once the wind gets to 15 knots or more.

[Steve Laume]

Not to be difficult but I've had some very enjoyable sails with boatspeed of 1 to 2 knots. Now if I was actually trying to get somewhere I'd use the iron genny.

Loren

Those are great conditions for trolling children behind the boat, if you have any bored on board.

We have tried it different ways, depending on age and spirit. Dinghy works great for little ones or teenagers that want to be as far away from the adults as possible. A windsurfer is excellent for one or two in the upper age range. I've also towed my son down a long sections of the South side of Fishers Island a couple of times. We stayed in close, at about the 12' contou, so he could dive down to check out the rocks and fishes.

Those are also really nice conditions for ghosting through a mooring field to check out other boats. It can get dodgy if there is a strong current running so be careful. It is also a great time to have a self tending stay sail. Steve.

[Bob Ohler]

Ric,
I sent you an e-mail. Call me at 410-535-9596